he murder trial of the head of the local branch of an extremist far-right group has begun inBlagoveshchensk, Russia (Amur region), according to a January 15, 2010 report in the local newspaper "Amurskaya Pravda." The defendant, who is not named in the report, heads the local branch of the Movement Against Illegal Migration (DPNI), a group linked with racist violence in several cities. He allegedly beat Chinese man to death on September 15, 2009.
According to prosecutors, two Chinese citizens encountered the defendant and some other far-right activists near a large store. The defendant then allegedly pulled out a wooden bat and hit the victim on the head, knocking him down. He then allegedly hit him several times with the bat as he lay on the ground, striking him in the head and torso. The victim died four days later in the hospital.
A security camera outside the store recorded the attack, and police detained the suspect two days later. He reportedly confessed to a personal hatred of Chinese people. Local police chief Sergey Marchenko
was quoted in the article saying that the local branch of the DPNI, "beat up, terrorized and robbed foreigners--not just Chinese, but also Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz." He added that other members of the DPNI face weapons and extremism charges. It is not clear, however, if other DPNI members will be put on trial. Their leader, whose name was not mentioned in the article, faces charges of "aggravated assault
motivated by ethnic hatred."
